Railroad tie replacement device and method

ABSTRACT

A lightweight portable ratcheting device allows a single workmen to remove a worn railroad tie in a more efficient and productive manner in about half the time now required by work crews using hand tools even in an inaccessible area.

This application claims priority of Provisional Patent Application60/874,644 filed Dec. 14, 2006 as the small entity application of JamesSiano.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to railroad track maintenance. Inparticular it relates to a device for removing old railroad ties as wellas replacing them with new ones.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

No specific device exists for replacement of railroad ties that can bedone by a single individual using a device that weighs less than 45pounds. U.S. Pat. No 4,343,457 teaches a jack adaptor, while U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,594,90 & 6,793,201 teach a jacking system, both useful forrailroad tie removal. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,185, 4,018,165, 4,392,433 &5,119,723 teach more complex apparatus and methods for railroad tiereplacement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Using a special tool one or two workers can extract a tie to be replacedin about half the time required by prior arts methods without the needto put the rail line out of service. Spot maintenance can be done ininaccessible locations.

The assembled device consists of two drive units incorporating a pawland ratchet mechanism to move a railroad tie via cables connected to asling over the end of the railroad tie where the drive units are clampedto a rail and a handle is moved by at least one operator to remove thetie.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A side angle view of the device is shown.

FIG. 2 A top view shows the device clamped to a rail before the cablesare tightened to place a sling in place to remove a railroad tie.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Prior to the present invention the process of performing railroad trackand bed maintenance had remained essentially the same as it had sincethe growth of railroading in the nineteenth century. Without specializedtools or methods it was mainly brute force. Instead of replacingindividual railroad ties where required, it might be simpler to tear upa section and rebuild it using new ties and track.

There were efforts to mechanize this process with mechanical devicesthat moved along the railroad to where the work could be performed onlyby closing down the right of way until it was complete. At the presenttime there is no indication that any of these mechanical devices haveever found commercial use in the railroad industry.

The present invention provides a method or railroad maintenance whereina single worker can carry this device in a canvass bag and quicklyassemble it and remove and replace railroad ties without disturbing theright of way. In the event a train comes the pawls are released and thehandle tilted away from the rail. As a safety device the pins can bepulled and the handle removed, then reattached when the train haspassed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 The assembled device is shown with drive unit 1, handle 2,spacing bar 3, clamp 4, ratchet mechanism 5 and pin 6. Pins are insertedwhere shown to assemble the unit.

FIG. 2 The positioned device is shown with drive unit 1, handle 2,spacing bar 3, clamp 4, rail 7, railroad tie 8, sling 9 and cable 10.

A device of about 22″×12″×8″ and can be constructed of steel, aluminum,magnesium, titanium, reinforced plastic or other rugged material toweigh less than 45 pounds so that the disassembled drive units and aspacer bar and handle can conveniently fit in a canvass-carrying bag. Adevice of 35 pounds did not work. The device consists of two drive unitswhich each have two pawls. One is on top and one is on the bottom.Opening all 4 pawls will allow the 4 cables to be pulled off drums.

With the device clamped to a rail as shown in FIG. 2 the cables arethreaded under the rail and connected to the sling. The cables can thenbe evened by closing the top pawl of a drive unit. When the cables areeven and the sling is secured over the end of the worn railroad tie, all4 pawls are engaged and pumping the handle allows removing the wornrailroad tie. The same ratcheting pumping action can be used to insert areplacement railroad tie with cable reversed.

The device of the present invention is ideal for spot maintenance and isparticularly useful in limited accessibility areas The device is easy touse and maintain.

A 1 or 2 man crew can replace individual ties while the right of wayremains open. In case of a train two possible actions can be taken:

-   Release top pawls and pull handle back, or-   Pull safety side pins and remove handle from both drive units.

The following examples illustrate the practice of the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1

An apparatus as illustrated in FIG. 1 was manufactured and assembledwith pins in the handle and spacer bar.

EXAMPLE 2

An apparatus as illustrated in FIG. 2 was set up and used by a singleoperator to first extract a worn railroad tie and insert a new railroadtie in half the time it previously took a crew working with hand toolsto perform the same railroad maintenance.

The present invention has industrial application in the field ofrailroad maintenance.

1. An apparatus for extracting and inserting a railroad tie comprisingtwo drive units, a spacing bar, a handle and clamps on the drive unitsto secure the apparatus to a rail.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising pins used to assemble and disassemble the apparatus.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 2 further comprising two pawls and two cables on eachdrive unit.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising a slingconnected to cables by cable hooks.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 as shownin FIG.
 1. 6. A method of extracting or inserting a railroad tie with anapparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 with the steps: a. Placing theapparatus astride a railroad tie and under a rail, b. Clamping the driveunits to the rail, c. Releasing pawls to even cables, d. Securing cablesto a sling over the end of a tie, and e. Ratcheting the tie to extractor insert it.
 7. A method of railroad maintenance wherein a wornrailroad tie is extracted and a new railroad tie is inserted by one ortwo operators using a portable apparatus.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein the method is carried out without having to close down the railline during the extraction and insertion.
 9. The method of claim 8wherein the method is used for spot maintenance.
 10. The method of claim7 wherein the method is used in limited accessibility areas.
 11. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the apparatus is as shown in FIG.
 1. 12. Themethod of claim 7 wherein the apparatus is put into position to remove arailroad tie as shown in FIG. 2.